Synthèse anglais - Places and forms of power - The NRA

Introduction

I’m going to treat the notion of “Places and forms of power”. First of all I'd like to give a definition of the notion. The term “Places” denotes important buildings or institutions or a place anywhere in the world. Power is the ability to control others, events or resources; the ability to make things happen despite obstacles, opposition. At all times, power has been in the hands of politicians or military chiefs. But power also implies counter-power, that is to say opposition and resistance. In order to illustrate this notion, I will treat the topic of gun culture in the United States. I will answer to this question: How does the US deal with the issue of weapons?

First of all, I will concentrate on those who support carrying of weapons, then I will concentrate on movements against weapons.

I- The power of weapons

A- The second amendment

To begin with the gun power, it’s important to know that the right to bear arms has been guaranteed by the second amendment for a long time. The history of the country shows that the Americans have always felt the need to be armed. The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution is the amendment and the section of the Bill of Rights taught me that people have the right to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment was adopted in the United States on December 15, 1791. The Second Amendment and the Bill of Rights were introduced into the United States by James Madison. But the second amendment may be understood differently by different people. So, you can understand that it is true only under some circumstances. Some of them see considerable advantages to bear arms. The best example is that they want to protect their families against bad guys or simply their identity because American people take care of the constitutional right to protect it. But others don’t see this as an advantage but more like a call to the slaughter. The different opinions on the right to bear arms divides America. In other words, this opposition is shown in several ways including statements for and against the right to bear arms.

B- The National Rifle association

We've seen that a powerful weapons lobby called the NRA has a huge of influence on the on political power. Especially, since Donald Trump, the new President, promised to protect the Second Amendment rights in his campaign. Several associations are for weapons. NRA stands for National Rifle Association. The NRA is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun rights and was funded in 1871. According to the NRA, there are 6 million active members. These major donors are the Republicans. There slogan is “Guns don't kill people, people kill people”. During the last presidential elections, the NRA was controversial because they financed Donald Trump's campaign. The NRA funded television advertising to promote the NRA and encouraged voters to vote trump. The NRA has been criticized for insufficient defense of African-American gun rights and providing muted and delayed responses in gun rights cases involving black gun owners In particular after a well-publicized 2016 case, Philando Castile, an African-American and legal gun owner, was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop while reaching for his wallet. Castile had a valid firearm permit and informed the police officer of his gun prior to the shooting.

Donald Trump has the support of the NRA and is himself a supporter of the 2nd amendment. He said about the 2nd amendment “The Second amendment will never be repealed !”; “as much as Democrats would like to see this happen, the Second amendment will remain in place”

II- Movements against gun violence

A- Children and guns

Firearm injuries are the 3rd leading cause of death among children age 1 to 17 in the United States, according to a 2017 study published in the journal Pediatrics. Every day, 7 Children and teens die from gun violence, with about 41 being shot but surviving. Snoop Dogg made a music called "No guns allowed" in which we see the impact of weapons on children. They replace toys with weapons. He denounces the weight of weapons and the devastation that his causes. He sings to fight against gun violence, the clip is in black and white to illustrate the mourning and pay tribute to the victims of guns.